BY WINSTONE ANTONIO
RENOWNED sungura singer and Khiama Boys frontman Nicholas “Madzibaba” Zakaria prides himself as the Senior Lecturer and his track record in nurturing musical greats, among them Alick Macheso, is enough testimony for his prowess.
Being a musical lecturer that he has proven to be, the left-handed guitarist is itching to have his day in class, taking music apprentices through the paces at his Nicholas Zakaria Arts Centre in the dormitory town of Chitungwiza, but COVID-19 is pushing him back.
Of late, Madzibaba has been using his residence to share his musical wisdom with wannabes, but the facility is not appropriate for the cause, hence the speedy construction of the arts centre is critical.
The arts centre, in the mould of Pakare Paye Arts Centre established by the late music grandee and hero Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi in Norton, will offer a platform for artistes to share ideas, identify, nurture and develop talent.
Madzibaba’s son and manager, Lazarus Zakaria told NewsDay Life & Style that the centre had been officially registered.
“We are happy that all the designs that enable us to get the work started are now ready. We are now in the process of putting resources together, but things are tough under this COVID-19 environment since we can’t perform to capacity, which is our main source of income,” he said.
“We are just optimistic that things will take off as planned. We have some partners who indicated their willingness to support the project, though much is still in the pipeline. Beyond our live performances, we are open to more partnerships with anyone.”
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Zakaria said the centre would come with all the facilities aimed at developing local arts and these include a recording studio, training facilities and live performance halls.
It will also have recreational facilities and restaurants.
Madzibaba, in his career which spans two decades, is credited for assisting a number of notable names in the music industry both seasoned and up-and-coming artistes.
Besides Macheso, the late System Tazvida and Simon Mutambi passed through Madzibaba’s hands and it is not a wild expectation that the arts centre will be a game changer.
Follow Winstone on Twitter@widzoanto
